Neither starter Tom Savage nor backup Deshaun Watson was stellar in the Texans 29-7 loss to Jacksonville in the season opener at NRG Stadium.

Some of that was because the offensive line was atrocious. Some of that was because neither Savage nor Watson is good enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

One of them will be good enough, though.

Watson has all the tools to become a good quarterback in this league. Savage is a solid backup at best.

There was no problem with naming Savage the starter before the season and sticking with that decision. Watson, who has a bright future, is a rookie who needs development. O'Brien and his staff wanted to work with him and mold him and felt like Savage was good enough to get the Texans through for awhile.

It makes sense and it's a fine way to go.

But on Sunday, after Savage was sacked six times in the first half, something had to change.

So O'Brien made the switch.

Now, O'Brien has to make a tough decision, and he has to do it in a very limited amount of time because the Texans play Cincinnati on the road on Thursday night.

"I look at how they play on game day," O'Brien said. "I look at what happened leading up to game day, how they practiced during the week, but mostly how they play in the game when the lights are on."

Examining the evidence

The game gives him little to go on.

Neither quarterback was great.

After watching film, though, O'Brien said a few things stood out about each one.

"I think Tom plays very calmly," O'Brien said. "I think he knows how to operate our offense. I didn't see him have, when it came to X's and O's, any mental mistakes. There are things that he can do better, things that I can do better to help him.

"I think Deshaun went in there and made some plays. Deshaun's a playmaker. He can make plays with his feet. He knows what to do. He checked us in and out of plays. He has good instincts out on the field."

If it's already come to this - to the point where O'Brien couldn't stick with his starter for a full game, he should just make the change and go with Watson now.

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Jenny Dial Creech

Being a playmaker, making plays with his feet, having good instincts is better than being calm and making few mistakes.

It's better to commit to Watson and get him settled into this offense now rather than go back and forth for weeks between the two.

The one hang up could be Watson's ankle, which he tweaked Sunday. He was listed under "limited participation" on the Texans' injury list Monday.

As long as Watson's ankle is good to go, O'Brien should get the rookie back on the field Thursday night on the road and see what he does with the opportunity.

This is not an ideal situation for the Texans and it's one that is all too familiar. The quarterback issues this team has year after year are tiring.

But this time, at least, one of the options is Watson - a first round draft choice with a mountain of promise in the NFL.

It's early in his career to crown him a starter, but that's where he is headed anyway.

Watson has a lot of improvement to make. It's no secret that O'Brien's offense is complicated.

So he will have to learn quickly and adjust on the fly.

He was up and down Sunday. He completed 12 of 23 passes for 102 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He was sacked four times.

His upside is hard to ignore. He's incredibly athletic and quick on his feet. That could do wonders for the Texans as he develops.

All this being said, it won't matter who O'Brien dubs the starter if the offensive line can't protect him.

The team is clearly missing Duane Brown for one, but beyond that, the line has to be much, much better.

Thrown for a loss

Jacksonville sacked Texans quarterbacks 10 times Sunday. That's unbelievably bad. You have to wonder what each quarterback would have looked like with better protection. It would have been a different ballgame.

With an offensive line that has so many holes, it's important to have a quarterback who can make plays with his feet. Watson is that guy.

There's a lot to be done before the Texans take the field Thursday night to pick up their first win of the season.

All around, things have to get better.

The offense needs a jump start, and Watson is the smart choice in this case.